Friday, February 15, 2008

Ok, so in my last post I talked about how long it often takes me to try recipes, right? Well I take it back- today I bring you a case of a recipe that looked too good to delay making. And I am so glad we got to eat this!

Tofu Mom posted her recipe for tofu fish on her blog, and I made it and ate it on Wednesday. I needed a quick lunch because I was running off to class, and realized that I had all the ingredients called for, with a few exceptions. I replaced the almonds with an almond/pine nut/pepita mixture from Trader Joe's, used furikake (a mixture of nori strips, sesame seeds, salt, and sugar) instead of the kelp granules, oat bran and flax meal instead of wheat germ, panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) instead of cornflakes, and lime instead of lemon. These changes did not make any real difference to the awesomeness of this recipe, though! These tofu fish fillets were a breeze to whip up (adding lemon/lime juice to the soymilk is ingenious, because in addition to adding flavor, the acid thickens up the soymilk, thus making it coat the tofu very well, key for breading) and fry in the cast iron skillet. We ate these with some rice and a side salad- so tasty! Trust me, make these as soon as you can, you don't want to wait on this one!

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and Daiku and I celebrated by giving our love to ducks. Specifically, ducks whose tortured lives are given to the production of fois gras. These poor ducks are overfed by having metal rods shoved down their throats, to the extent that their livers expand under the weight of too much food. These diseased livers are the delicacy known as fois gras - 900 calories (per 1/2 cup serving) of cruelty. Fois gras is so beyond the realm of comprehension- and many people agree. Its production and sale are banned in several countries (including many that border France, where it originated), the state of California, and several cities including Chicago. In addition, many more cities are currently considering banning it, including Philadelphia and New York.

The Syracuse Animal Rights Organization decided to picket L'Adour, the only restaurant in Syracuse that still serves fois gras. Hundreds of restaurants, including ones run by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck have signed a pledge to stop serving fois gras, and we want L'Adour to follow suit.

Won't you consider writing L'Adour and letting them know your feelings about fois gras, the cruelty inherent in its production, and the folly of its consumption? You don't have to be vegetarian to be repulsed by this kind of culinary ignorance.

So I googled "fois gras austin" and discovered there are 15 restaurants that serve it! I was shocked! But there's also a website that lists all the places, the owners and chefs, and their addresses, phone numbers, and emails. Fois gras is the most disgusting thing ever.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! Glad you liked the "Fishy Tofu"!! I had to laugh about all the substitutions at first, but that just goes to show how creative you are and how recipes can changed in SO many ways and still turn out yummy! Never be afraid to experiment or substitute!

I agree with Liz, it's totally the best way of celebrating valentines ever. Foie gras is just plain cruelty! The first time I found out what it was I cried, I think I was 14 and I couldn't understand how anyone could be so cruel to ducks. Ok, maybe I'm super sensitive or something but I still cry whenever I read about what they do to those poor ducks :(

I will be making those fishsticks for my boy immediately, since he misses "fish and chips" like you wouldn't believe and I just got my hands on some vegan tartar sauce today... I am so happy you posted about them! And I am so glad you guys gave your love to ducks for v-d. What a sweet way to spend it.

Good for you and the ducks! I wish my husband would accompany me to things like that :( However, we all do what we can, and reach veganism in many different ways (but I wish spell check would stop highlighting 'veganism' as a misspell!).

ugh, gross. I assumed for awhile that most everyone had quit using foie gras...or was at least shamed into not mentioning, but I was watching take home chef the other day and he used it...it even looks diseased and I would never put it into my body even if I didn't know what it was! So anyway, I'm in the process of typing up a letter to L'adour right now. And those "fish" sticks look awesome, thanks for bringing the recipe to my attention.

It is so good that you all demonstrated. I thnk it's easy for the average joe or jane to forget about things like this, so seeing masses of people outside a restaurant is a good reminder! And what a great way to spread the V-Day love :)

I'd love to try those tofu "fish," but promise me they aren't too "fishy" tasting! (I've hated the taste of fish my whole life, long before I became a vegetarian.) I'll have to print out and examine the recipe, regardless.

Foie gras was served at my work holiday party this year . . . ugh. I actually couldn't believe it -- I will have to see who's still serving it in this area and ask them to stop!

Catherine, if you want to get rid of the fishiness, you can leave out the seaweed (kelp or nori) -they did give that certain flavor that I loved, but I think you could easily leave it out and still have succulent, crisp tofu with tons of flavor.

What the hell is wrong with people? Who thought up this idea of foie gras in the first place? Gee, let's do this to get fat livers. Gawd!! Like ashasarala, I'm ill, disturbed and depressed about this and all the other cruel things humans do to animals. Tofu sticks are much better. I've tried the ones from Vegan Lunchbox, but this jazzed up version from Tofu Mom has me really interested. Like you, I'll get around to it.....soon....

Ugh, I can't believe that restaurant still serves foie gras. How can you NOT realize that foie gras is one of the most cruel things you could do to an animal? I know die-hard meat eaters who won't eat f.g. Thank you for spending your valentine's day protesting against it.

It breaks my heart to see those ducks covered in their own feces and barely able to move because their livers are about to explode...at one of the farm sanctuary events last year, we watched a film about foie gras production- heart-breaking.

Looks like you & Daiku spent your V-Day the perfect way, spreading the love to the poor innocent duckies.

Good for you prostesting like that! I live in France, and as you can imagine there's a lot of work to be done here...Also thanks for sharing the link for the tofu-fish. Both versions sound good, and I've been wanting to try some.I'm adding a link your blog on mine- I see we have some of the same links in the culturejamming dept.Cheers!

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A Note About My Food:

All the food on this blog, unless explicitly noted, is vegan. That means that no animal products (flesh, milk, eggs, or gelatin) have been used. So go ahead and enjoy the food porn-ice cream! omlettes! baked goods galore!- guilt-free.